Illicit Love

Chapter 19

*Tom's POV*

It was Friday. Tomorrow was the wedding and apparently Father made no progress with Mother. We've managed to make some problems for the staff, but we were so far from stopping this wedding. Nathaniel, Zendaya's lover, and Laura, her friend, arrived yesterday and luckily agreed to help us with the plan.

I was currently taking a walk through the garden. I passed by the horse stable where Tessa was. Tessa was a beautiful black horse that I raised when she was just a newborn. I quickly groomed her before continuing my walk. I sat down on a bench, looking at the sunrise. I felt someone sit next to me and I looked over.

"Thomas. I'm sorry" Mother said.

"Sorry for? I know that what you're doing is for the kingdom, I just wish we didn't have to solve it like this." I sighed.

"I know that you're planning something Thomas."

We sat in silence. It seemed as though Mother was thinking. I continued to look at the bright colors the sunrise brought out.

"Thomas, let me tell you a story." My mother continued. "When I was just a girl, my mother had arranged my own marriage. I did not want to marry this man one bit. I was in love with my best friend. I went to great lengths to stop this wedding. I tried wrecking things and being impolite. I tried it all. Nothing would work. At one point, I threatened to run away and elope with my lover. At that point, Mother had given up and I married your father. That was one of the worst moments of my life."

"So why are you arranging a wedding for me?" I asked.

"To fix the kingdom Thomas. This wedding will bring us much more than you could imagine and help us greatly."

"Why did Grandmother set up your arranged marriage?"

"She had said that in a few years, this wedding would help save us, but I was stubborn and didn't listen to a word that she said. Now, karma is coming back."

"Who were you supposed to marry?"

"Harrison's father."

"Really?"

"Yes, but at the time he was in love with Haz's mother and I was in love with your father."

"Well I didn't expect that."

"Thomas. If there was one lesson that I learned from that experience is that love always wins in the end. I don't want to get in the way of you and you're beloved. I only beg that you understand why this is happening and how much good this can do. I never meant to let you down in any way, but as much as I hate it, you have to go through with the wedding. I hate seeing you this way. I know that you love Y/N. I see it everyday when she passes you, but your marriage with Princess Zendaya is more powerful than you think. So please go through with it. And even if you wouldn't like to, I hate to say you have no choice. I'm sorry."

"Mother, in your eyes, we have no choice, but there are thousands of ways to solve this. Trust me. You may not want to see them, but I can assure you there are. I won't sit still and do what you want as I've done my entire life. I'm not going to stop fighting and there's nothing that you can do about it." I snapped walking out.

I could hear her calling me, but I kept my head held high and walked out. I was stopping this wedding. I'm in love with Y/N and as Mother said, love always wins in the end.